 TOA PAYOH VETS PTE LTDtoapayohvets.com Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074. Tel: +65 6254-3326, 9668-6468, judy@toapayohvets.com, 99pups@gmail.com |
WHAT TO DO IF A FAT CAT HAS DIABETES TYPE 1? |
The male neutered 8-year-old fat cat displayed brown-yellowish urine stains and hair loss in the genital area for some 2 years, but now he no longer had stains. At that time, I suspected that he had to go in and out of the litter pan which was lined with overflowing newspapers. The newspapers were spread out of the sides of the pan. After making sure that the papers were placed inside the litter pan and antibiotics, the cat's genital area was no longer bald due to licking of the stained area. Sometimes, the vet can come to a diagnosis from the litter mis-management. Many Singaporean cat owners still use newspapers inside litter trays instead of commercial litter; hence, the vet must understand the local practices. Prescribing antibiotics and not resolving the litter mis-management would not resolve the urine leakage and staining. Everyone was happy in this case. Today, the father and daughter brought the cat in for grooming. The cat looked like Garfield with turfs of matted hair on the neck, body and behind the ears. He was as fat as Garfield and was very active in catching sparrows that landed on the window sill. "It is not normal for a cat to have stained genital areas," I said to the daughter. "Get a blood test done." I did not ask for a urine test as there were some hesitation about costs and in any case, the cat was sent in for grooming and not for disease. HISTORY "Is he always looking for food and always thirsty?" I asked the father who was a bus driver. "He is always hungry and drinks a lot!" the father spoke while his young adult daughter listened respectfully. BLOOD TEST High blood glucose. Liver enzymes were OK. No kidney disorder. So is this a case of diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus without complications in a cat? Is it a case of diabetes at all? What do you think? How to confirm it? URINE TEST This would be done if not for economic reasons. Glucosuria will confirm diabetes mellitus. What about diabetes insipidus? Urine SG <1.008 will indicate a likelihood of diabetes insipidus as the urine will be very dilute. "Normal cat urine SG should be around 1.020" I said to my assistant Mr Saw. I had a review of the two types of diabetes with my assistant Mr Saw. Real case studies are best and this case is useful for Mr Saw as he has to go into differential diagnosis including diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. One condition is associated with the pancreas. The other with the kidneys. FOLLOW UP The fat cat was prescribed Hill's W/D which is meant for management of weight and glucose level in cat diabetes Type 1.  He thrived on this therapeutic diet given to lose weight and manage glucose level. He was not hungry or thirsty after 3 months on this diet. Hence, I would say that he had type 1 diabetes which is said to be the more common type for cats. The treatment is dietary management using therapeutic diet like Hill's W/D.  |
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